By Nikola Miloradović / info@eurohoops.net
FIBA has released the latest FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, following Window 3 of the 2027 Basketball World Cup Qualifiers, with no changes among the top five teams.
The United States remain No. 1 ahead of Germany, Serbia, France and Canada, although FIBA noted that fewer than 1.5 ranking points separate the three teams battling for third place.
Among European nations, Spain climbed to sixth after overtaking Australia, benefiting from the higher regional weighting applied to games played in the European Qualifiers. Latvia also moved up, returning to 12th place after back-to-back wins in Window 3.
Brazil were the biggest movers inside the Top 10, rising to ninth ahead of Lithuania after improving to 6-0 in the Americas Qualifiers. South Sudan also gained one place, climbing to 24th after securing a spot in the second round of the African Qualifiers.
Elsewhere, Iran and Venezuela each climbed two places after playing three games in the July window, while Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines recorded the biggest jumps outside the Top 100.
FIBA also announced a change to its ranking methodology. Starting after Window 4, teams winning by 30 points or more will receive a larger Margin of Victory bonus, adding a second performance tier to the existing reward for victories by at least 15 points.
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